Post-nominal letters are used in the United Kingdom after a person's name in order to indicate their positions, qualifications, memberships, or other status.
There are various established orders for giving these, e.g. from the Ministry of Justice, Debrett's, and A & C Black's Titles and Forms of Address, which are generally in close agreement.
The Grades of the Order of St John are: There was also the Privy Council of Northern Ireland (P.C.
(Only abbreviated forms shown; other institutions use full names [omitting "University of"] in postnominals.
These are not given as postnominals according to Debrett's, however the Oxford University Calendar style guide lists them after degrees.
According to Debrett's, these are placed directly after orders, decorations and medals (i.e. replacing university degrees).
"[3] Contrary to this, Debrett's consider that within learned societies: "There is no recognised order for placing these letters.
In practice, where one society is indisputably of greater importance than another the letters are usually placed in that order.
Some bodies award Chartered and other professional statuses with separate designatory letters from those indicating membership.